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Thread: a good fibromyalgia diet?

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    kriz's Avatar
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    Default a good fibromyalgia diet?

    My neighbor, who suffers from fibromyalgia, was adviced by a doctor to follow some type of low-carb and high protein (all types non-processed meat) diet to relieve his symptoms. Vegetables and fruit are also allowed (so, it's not really atkins.)

    I just find it strange that he can't even eat "good carbs" such as brown rice and whole grain bread, and I always thought that red meat and dairy are not good choices for individuals with fibromyalgia Personally, I think a vegan or preferably a raw food diet would be more suitable. He was on a vegan diet for a few months until He met this doc. What do you all think - does a low-carb and high protein diet sound right? Any good suggestions on what to eat or avoid when one suffer from this condition?
    "Animals are my friends... and I don't eat my friends". ~ George Bernhard Shaw.

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    Could diet help alleviated some symptoms? Maybe. But considering that we don't know what the cause is for fibromyalgia I think a "fibromyalgia diet" is questionable at best.

    Remember, a reputable doctor also wrote The Atkins Diet.
    Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    Thanks. He's into this one diet now and claim he's feeling better cutting carbs and adding red meat. We'll see. I'm just naturally skeptical when I hear a doctor recommend a low-carb diet (including lots of dairy and meat).
    "Animals are my friends... and I don't eat my friends". ~ George Bernhard Shaw.

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    You bring up a good point about the cosmetics. There are more women than men who get fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, and almost every type of auto immune disease - and more women than men who are exposed to scented "personal care" products. If I were your friend, I would avoid all chemical based solutions and scents. I am sure this is not just correlation but may one day be shown to be cause and effect.
    Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein

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    Gliondrach
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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    Magnesium malate. This is magnesium and malic acid.

    Aluminium in the body can lead to magnesium deficiency.

    Omega 3 and 6 are thought to be beneficial, too.
    http://www.acudoc.com/Fibromyalgia.PDF

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    Thanks for the article, Glindorach. I'll send it to my friend.
    "Animals are my friends... and I don't eat my friends". ~ George Bernhard Shaw.

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    You hit the nail right on the head for me. I have it & the older I get, the worse my chronic pain is. It's something I inheirited from my mother.

    A long time ago, I started looking into the chemicals I was putting INTO my body. Growing up, I saw every single day what the American government chooses to do with it's ill citizens. The last thing I wanted to become was another drug hooked waiting room zombie.

    I noticed that when I stopped drinking soda, & stopped eating meat, dairy & eggs the pain subsided. I knew, however, that it wasnt enough. Unlike other Vegans who get a hearty daily diet of rice, beans & potatoes, I cant go that route either. Even brown rice affects me the same way.

    So tell your friend that I've done physical experiments on this & I can tell her that I know how she feels.

    I never felt so alive until I omitted those items from my diet. Magical things happened for me.

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    Thanks! That's great, Cafejane - you've found a diet which works for you. It was probably a long road to get where you are right now. My friend has tried numerous diets and therapies with poor results. So, I know what it means to find a "pain reliever" which actually works.

    So, I guess the Doc is onto something by suggesting a low-carb diet. Good news. But I just don't see how a "tradtional" Atkins program, with emphasis on meat and dairy, is a healthy option. Don't you think a raw food diet would be ideal? It automatically excludes processed and cooked carbs as well as chemically based food...no?
    "Animals are my friends... and I don't eat my friends". ~ George Bernhard Shaw.

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    Raw is the best, but she may not have to go that far. Personally, just my opinion, but she needs to stop eating meat altogether & get off starches too. Drink tea, coffee or water only.

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    I've had lots of muscle pains and other symptoms for well over 12 years; I'm 25. Was diagnosed with fibromyalgia last year. Eating healthy really does help me; doesn't take all the pain away but makes it more tolerable and easier to handle. Together with yoga and other things things have improved.

    Things work slightly different for everyone, and depending on one's symptoms and the specific causes of one's case, one thing or another may be more efficient. That said, there are a few things that repeatedly come up reg fibromyalgia that people say have helped them: cutting out cereals (gluten-containing; this may be the problem rather than their carbohydrate content, as is often claimed), 'empty' carbs & 'white starch' (such as potatoes, white rice etc), hydrogenated fats, sugar (incl molasses, syrup, 'brown sugar' etc), MSG and artificial sweeteners, chocolate, coffee (and black tea) and alcohol, and reducing consumption of added fats and salt as much as possible. (usually dairy and meat are also pointed out as trigger foods, I can't even see them as food so I wouldn't include them..!)

    (Plenty of fibromyalgic people also have food intolerances, like tomato, orange/citrus fruit, chocolate, soy, corn etc)

    To me it's taken some time to work out habits that work for me. Others have to find what works for them, of course; it's worth trying out different things. Basically, here's what my day looks like:

    In the morning, I drink ½ litre of water, and after a. half an hour eat 1-2 pces of fruit (such as 1 orange, ½-1 mango, or whatever I fancy). A few hours later, 1 serving of nuts (25 grams) with a few pces of sundried tomatoes OR a little plain soy yoghurt (150-200 grams). For dinner I eat a large salad (mostly raw vegs, sometimes some glutenfree good quality protein grain like millet, quinoa or amaranth.) usually I have some 'extra treat' with it, like 1 veggie sausage or burger, a few rice cakes with some spread I like or whatever. Sometimes I eat dessert (have been trying to cut it out, but now I only eat it occasionally so that I'm fine with), usually a pudding or soy yoghurt -plain or sweet - or parfait (easy to make blending silken tofu with fruit or berries or jam). A tip is to eat dessert BEFORE ending the meal, not after, and then continue to eat savoury stuff, like that the sweet craving is more easily silenced!

    Drink enough water throughout the day.

    This will probably sound boring to some, to me it isn't, I find myself capable of sticking to these habits because I actually LOVE them, I like eating like this. I do vary the foods, by periods, but the pattern is similar. I think that is important to any diet, it shouldn't be 'dieting' or forcing oneself to eat foods just because they are healthy. There are many healthy tasty things, so one should be a bit picky! Like that it's easy to live OK. And the effects on pains and discomforts etc are really motivating once they become noticeable.

    Good luck to yer friend, hope any of this can be of some help.
    Oh, and btw. There are a few studies on the effects of raw food diets on fibromyalgia, for example a Finnish study from 2000 (published in Scandanavian Journal of Rheumatology, 29), that seem to suggest that fibromyalgics benefit a lot from eating plenty of raw vegan foods.

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    ConsciousCuisine
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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    Quote ukahela
    Things work slightly different for everyone, and depending on one's symptoms and the specific causes of one's case, one thing or another may be more efficient. That said, there are a few things that repeatedly come up reg fibromyalgia that people say have helped them: cutting out cereals (gluten-containing; this may be the problem rather than their carbohydrate content, as is often claimed), 'empty' carbs & 'white starch' (such as potatoes, white rice etc), hydrogenated fats, sugar (incl molasses, syrup, 'brown sugar' etc), MSG and artificial sweeteners, chocolate, coffee (and black tea) and alcohol, and reducing consumption of added fats and salt as much as possible. (usually dairy and meat are also pointed out as trigger foods, I can't even see them as food so I wouldn't include them..!)

    (Plenty of fibromyalgic people also have food intolerances, like tomato, orange/citrus fruit, chocolate, soy, corn etc)

    To me it's taken some time to work out habits that work for me. Others have to find what works for them, of course; it's worth trying out different things.

    Drink enough water throughout the day.
    I completely agree with this ^ 100%.

    On flesh and dairy, it's pretty basic logic, really:

    Eating dairy causes inflammation. Inflammation increases pain and fibromyalgia symptoms. Dairy is BAD for fibromyalgia sufferers (and all humans).

    Eating animal flesh causes an acid condition in the body. Fibromyalgia is exacerbatred by an acid/alkaline imbalance. Animal flesh and products are BAD for fibromyalgia sufferers (and all humans).

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    I have studied fibromyalgia a bit in massage school. One of the most important things for fibromyalgia suffers to do is make sure they get enough sleep and relaxation. They should try to maintain a regular sleep schedule. Gentle massage by a massage therapist familiar with the condition is a wonderful relaxion/pain management tool. Reiki, therapeutic touch, and acupuncture have has some good results with this condition, also.

    As of now, there is no test for it. However, there has been some promising research revolving around the levels of substance P in the spinal fluid. Preliminary findings suggest that fibromyalgia sufferers have elevated substance P levels. Substance P is one of the neurotransmitters that transmits the sensation of pain.

    I'm of the mind that a vegan, whole foods diet can benefit fibromyalgia sufferers, but I don't have any hard evidence of this. Given that sleep and relaxation is so important for patients, caffeine should be completely avoided. I'd think that because of their inflammatory nature, dairy and alcohol should not be consumed.

    Hope this helps!
    rant

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    ConsciousCuisine
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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    Quote kriz
    CC, I wish she would have the opportunity to find someone like you (a nutritonist or doctor), who has the knowledge and insight and could guide her in the right direction.

    Well, there are those of us out here who have been diagnosed with it and have eliminated symptoms through natural means! I used to take medications, scores of pills, years ago. I tried everything. Natural healing is the only true remedy, for me (and my clients) !

    Rantipole, actually there *is* a test for it. I was tested over 10 years ago, when I was diagnosed. It involves manual palpation of various "tender points" throughout the body and answering various questions about sleep, pain and symptoms.

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    Quote ConsciousCuisine
    Rantipole, actually there *is* a test for it. I was tested over 10 years ago, when I was diagnosed. It involves manual palpation of various "tender points" throughout the body and answering various questions about sleep, pain and symptoms.
    I should've been more precise. There's no lab test for it. Instead of test (as one normally thinks of a medical test), it works as you describe. If the substance P thing proves reliable, it could possibly lead to a quick lab test so the patient doesn't have to go through a longer process.

    Cheers,
    rant

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    ConsciousCuisine, I'm curious about what has helped you reg your fibromyalgia..? And do you still have some symptoms, regularly/occasionally?

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    I have rheumatoid arthritis (for the past 20+ years), fibromyalgia, Lupus and liver disease. The *only* thing that has helped me is going vegan. I started noticing that red meat made me feel like I had a hangover and made my joints and muscles scream. So, I cut out meat and started feeling some relief. I then cut out dairy and all animal products and found that the pain almost went away (except for flares due to weather changes).

    Magnesium is also a mineral that Americans typically lack, but can be absorbed by the skin. A natural Dr. told me to soak 2 or three times a week in Epsom Salts to soak in the Magnesium. It really has helped, and it's very relaxing.

    I am amazed that a Dr. would suggest eating red meat. Every Rheumatologist that I have seen in the past 5 years has agreed that red meat is bad for autoimmune diseases. The current one that I see has a question of "do you still consume dairy" in the health survey right under "do you drink" and "do you smoke". So, it's pretty darn obvious that dairy has been linked to autoimmune pain, also.

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    I get peer-reviewed clinician journals in the mail often and the main article in one this month is titled "Fibromyalgia." I am happy to report that it was very informative and shed some light on misconceptions that I (and many of my collegues) had.

    First, it is no longer considered a diagnosis of exclusion since other pain disorders (such as rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis) are commonly present. The criteria for the diagnosis comes from the American College of Rheumatology (here in the U.S.) so a good general practitioner (of any discipline) could give a diagnosis. But there are some diseases that can mimick FM, so please don't diagnose yourself. These include: severe hypothyroidism, metastatic cancer, osteomalacic myopathy, polymyalgia rheumatica, early acromegaly, and hepatitis C.

    Also, depression is about 2-3 times more prevalant when a person has FM, so treating the depression is important as its symptoms many be mistaken for worsening of FM or failure of treatment.

    Some links:
    British Columbia Fibromyalgia Society
    Fibromyalgia Network
    National Fibromyalgia Association
    National Fibromyalgia Partnership, Inc
    Oregon Fibromyalgia Foundation

    As far as nutrition goes, here is something I am quoting from one of the sites:

    Nutrition: Nutritional therapy for fibromyalgia can be helpful in counteracting stress, ridding the body of toxins, and restoring nutrients which have been malabsorbed or robbed from the body. Simple approaches may include the use of vitamin/mineral supplements to combat stress, replace deficiencies, and support the immune system. Nutritionists commonly urge fibromyalgia patients to limit the amount of sugar, caffeine, and alcohol they consume since these substances have been shown to irritate muscles and stress the system. More sophisticated nutritional programs using diet, toxin cleansing, and supplementation generally require a nutritionist familiar with FM who tests patients to determine their particular nutritional needs. As with other fibromyalgia treatments, a specifically designed nutritional plan that works well for one patient may prove disastrous for another.38 Unfortunately, a number of unproven "miracle" diets and supplements are advertised for FM and should be investigated carefully by patients before use. When starting a new nutritional program, it is important to inform your physician as some supplements and foods cause serious, or even dangerous, side effects when mixed with certain medications.
    Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein

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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    Low carb diets are dangerous! they cause the body to be acidic providing an ideal environment for bacterias, parasites, yeasts (candida) to thrive!

    So many people have this condition Fibromyalgia. I think it has something to do with the chemicals and toxins in our food chain, air and water.
    Health professionals are saying that 95% of all diseases are caused by toxins. She should definitely think about DETOXING.

    Natural Cellular Defense (made of liquid zeolites) is a safe way to Detox with no side effects. You can give it to infants, pets and pregnant mothers. It is changing people's lives... including mine. Learn more about liquid zeolites at www.liquidzeolite.org or check out www.detoxhealing.com
    Listen to this talk about "our toxic world"


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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    Quote rantipole View Post

    I'm of the mind that a vegan, whole foods diet can benefit fibromyalgia sufferers, but I don't have any hard evidence of this. Given that sleep and relaxation is so important for patients, caffeine should be completely avoided.
    There is quite a bit of evidence that avoiding meat and dairy products can benefit fibromyalgia sufferers.

    Here's a link to a document concluding that "many patients with fibromyalgia by a mostly raw vegetarian diet": Robert M. Bennett:
    A raw vegetarian diet for patients with fibromyalgia (2007).

    Avoiding meat and dairy products is actually mentioned quite often when diets for people with fibromyalgia is discussed.

    Regarding the rheumatic type of fibromyalgia, it's probably relevant to look at findings affecting other rheumatoid conditions, and there are many reports supporting that people with various rheumatic conditions will benefit from avoiding animal products. Here are a few of them:
    Uncooked, lactobacilli-rich, vegan food and rheumatoid arthritis. (1998)
    Faecal microbial flora and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis during a vegan diet. (1997)

    Some more links about vegan/whole foods diets and fibromyalgia:

    Vegan diet alleviates fibromyalgia symptoms. (2000)

    In "Food that Fights Pain" Dr. Neil Barnard makes a list of pain triggers to avoid, and dairy products is #1 on that list. His full list, with animal products having three of the top five products to avoid:

    1. Dairy products
    2. Chocolate/ caffeine
    3. Eggs
    4. Citrus fruits
    5. Meats (red meat, pork, poultry, fish)
    6. Wheat
    7. Nuts and peanuts
    8. Tomatoes
    9. Onions
    10. Corn
    11. Apples
    12. Bananas (pp.46, 211).

    Vegetarian Times wrote this in March 2001: "Researchers discovered that female fibromyalgia patients who consumed a diet devoid of animal products experienced a significant reduction in muscular pain and depression as well as improved sleep. "Fibromyalgia may be triggered by certain foods," explains Amy Lanou, Ph.D., nutrition director of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. "Switching to a vegan diet pulls away some of the most common suspected disease triggers, including dairy products, MSG, shrimp, food colorings and sulfites." The diet, which consisted primarily of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, also helped the women lose weight and lower their cholesterol levels. Published in the Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology (November 2000), this study is the first to investigate the effects of a vegan diet on fibromyalgia. But we bet it won't be the last."

    According to eliminatefibromyalgia.com meat, fish, eggs and dairy products are also on the list of common foods to avoid (in addition to plants of the Nightshade family, caffeine, MSG, Aspartame/sugar substitutes, sugar, white flour, simple carbohydrates and more).


    This article mentions that "Animal-based proteins (such as milk, meat, fish, poultry and eggs) will give you the amino acids your body needs to build protein". Maybe the writer does not know that we can get the amino acids and protein we need without eating animal products?

    Mary Moeller's Fibromyalgia Cookbook (1997) is discussed in this article: The Fibromyalgia Diet: Eating for a Better Quality of Life . The writer suggests that one should eliminate chocolate, carbonated beverages, coffee and alcohol completely, and in the newer book Moeller wrote with Joe Eldror, The Fibromyalgia Nutrition Guide, they advocate a more complete list of food (etc.) to avoid. High fat dairy products are on the top of that list:

    High fat dairy foods
    White sugar and white flour
    Fried foods
    Preservatives, junk food, and salt
    Red meat (especially salt cured, cured bacon, smoked, or nitrate cured)
    Coffee and caffeinated teas
    Colas, soda pop, and carbonated beverages
    Liquid with your meals
    Alcoholic beverages
    All forms of tobacco
    Prolonged periods of direct sun exposure
    Nutrasweet and saccharine
    I'm sure confusion can arise when people who have heard that red meat and dairy products is a bad thing for fibromyalgia sufferers who reads this article: http://www.fibromyalgia-diet.ws It discusses the combination of fibromyalgia and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), and suggests a menu consisting of beef stew, hamburgers, chicken, "egg white cheese omelette" among other things.

    How did the animal products get in there? I believe it's due to the focus on low carb/high protein. Patricia Helton writes that "Eating "Heavy" / "Filling" Carbohydrates will increase insulin, decrease blood sugar, and bring out fibromyalgia and hypoglycemia symptoms", so the idea is to avoid white bread, potatoes, ice vream, sugary stuff and moch more. She writes that "All of these carbohydrates will increase insulin and lower your blood sugar because they have what's been termed as a "high glycemic load."

    Carbohydrates with a "high glycemic load" breakdown into a tremendous amount of sugar within your body and should be avoided as they make fibromyalgia symptoms worse." Various beans are also on her list of what to avoid. Although beans often have very good levels of protein, they also contain carbs. She doesn't discuss this in detail, and doesn't list any scientific studies or references about the beans she mention, but on her page called "Foods to eat for fibromyalgia and hypoglycemia symptoms", she recommends light carbohydrates in addition to protein rich food: "strawberries, blueberries, cherries, lettuce, spinach, brocolli, cabbage, eggplant, string beans, zucchini, soy beans, mushrooms, and bell peppers. You may also add apples, oranges, and onions to this list as long as you keep the portion sizes small, as these particular carbohydrates are "heavier" than the others."

    If it's correct that both a low carb diet and a vegan diet is good for fibromyalgia, the best choice seems to be a low carb vegan diet, doesn't it?

    According to fibromyalgiadiet.net:
    One of the most important foods in a fibromyalgia diet is protein. It is very simple to obtain and consume through either beans, poultry, milk, cheese and more.
    The reason protein is so extremely important is because this is what the body needs to repair muscle tissues. For many FMS patients, muscle tissue often need repair. The effects of fibromyalgia can actually cause tissues to build and function improperly and even cause stiffness in many due to the constant strain caused by the fibromyalgia symptoms.
    It is also important to remember that just eating vegan options such as beans will not be the only thing a person would need. The amino acids found in many animal-based products provides very necessary amino acids that help your muscle tissue repair and restructure itself properly after becoming affected by the effects of fibromyalgia.
    It's surprising that there still are people out there who write about health and apparently assume that animal products are needed for proteins/amino acids. That's not exactly what they wrote, but it can easily be read that way especially by someone who likes meat or already believe in the myth that we need animal products for protein.

    Here's what National Fibromyalgia Research Association writes:

    A common thread in many cases of fibromyalgia seems to be a tendency to feel better when refined sugar, caffeine, alcohol, fried foods, red meat, and highly processed foods, are kept to a sound personal minimum in the diet.
    I guess the most optimum interpretation of a "sound minimum" would be - none.

    I found this on fibromyalgia-symptoms.org:

    For example, some are allergic to dairy, wheat and corn, while others are not. Keeping a food diary and paying close attention to which foods seem to provoke the onset of fibromylagia symptoms is recommended.
    Other foods that are associated with fibromyalgia symptoms such as muscle pain include the following:

    highly acidic foods
    foods in the nightshade family such as tomatoes
    potatoes
    eggplant
    peppers
    red meat
    cow milk products
    wheat products
    sugar
    In addition, it is recommended that coffee, chocolate, soda and alcohol be completely eliminated form the diet.
    An article about fibromyalgia treatment healthstartswithfoods.com has a holistic approach. I haven't checked if they discuss meat/fish/eggs, but they focus on avoding milk and milk products:

    This website focuses on how to reduce the symptoms of fibromyalgia with a fibromyalgia treatment. To develop a fibromyalgia treatment start by avoiding the following:
    additives and preservatives
    wheat
    milk and milk products
    corn and corn products
    refined white sugar
    oranges, and
    perhaps potatoes or tomatoes.
    Aram A. Akopyan (with a diploma in Oriental Medicince) mentions dairy products and red meat on his avoid-list, recommends a balanced diet rich in complex carbohydrates. (Note that as far as I know, only one of the sites/articles mentioned are from vegan sources.)

    A healthy, well balanced diet rich in complex carbohydrates, whole grains and fresh vegetables, and moderate organic proteins is important for a healthy body. Just as important is not what you eat but how and when you eat it. It is my belief that even he most benign and beneficial food can turn toxic when consumed under emotional stress. Most Americans do not eat properly; they eat on the run, multitasking and grab the easiest rapidly consumable foods. Eat sitting down, eat in a quiet place with no distractions, eat with friends or family and always eat slowly. Consume four or five smaller meals and do not eat late in the evening.
    Have more dark green leafy vegetables, kale, spinach and dandelion greens. Winter melon, pumpkin, pumpkins seeds, yam, sweet potatoes, lima beans, black beans, lotus seeds, white fungus. Mung beans, jujube dates, buckwheat and also mint, ginger, scallions, daikon radish and pearl barley as well as anise, cardamom, and tarragon, are also beneficial in moving stagnant Qi and providing nourishment to the muscles. Foods rich in essential fatty acid including cold-water fish, various nuts and seed are important. Proper water intake is essential to prevent dehydration, at least 10 eight oz cups per day at room temperature are recommended.

    AVOID: spicy foods, alcohol and smoking, eating while stresses, strong emotions, anger and anxiety can damage the liver and cause stagnation of Qi. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, potatoes, dairy products, red meat, sugar, and processed or refined foods have been known to trigger fibromyalgia. Each individual has specific foods that may cause allergies, be watchful and eliminate foods that cause gastrointestinal upsets or other allergic reactions. An elimination diet can aid in isolating allergic foods.
    (We already have threads discussing how to get essential fatty acids without eating fish).

    webmd.com also provides a list of seven foods to avoid. Here, Aspartame (NutraSweet) is on the top of the list, and milk products is #6. Again, this isn't a vegan site... They write "Be they low fat or high fat, some experts say, dairy products -- particularly, milk -- have been known to drive the symptoms of fibromyalgia", but also "On the other hand, if you feel as if milk is doing your body some good, keep chugging a glass or two of skim milk a day. It's got calcium to build bones and protein to build muscle, and it's fat free."

    So if dairy is bad for fibromyalgia and since we know that we need calcium and protein, the answer should be easy, since they also write "be they low fat or high fat". When they write about drinking skimmed milk, maybe they just want to ensure that their (non-vegan) readers don't just skip their protein / calcium sources and don't replace them with something else?
    Last edited by Korn; Mar 16th, 2010 at 09:26 AM. Reason: Various stuff.
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

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    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    I had another look on the links I posted a while ago, due to the mysterious minority of references who actually recommends red meat/cheese/dairy products while most of the others definitely didn't.

    Link 1: Published by Current Medicine Group LLC

    Link 2, 3 and 4: Published by PubMed.

    Link 5: a reference to material by Dr. Neil Barnard - a vegan, and president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a pro-vegan organization with more than 3000 members (doctors and health professionals), and an advisory board consisting these people:
    T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. Cornell University
    Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D. The Cleveland Clinic
    Suzanne Havala Hobbs, Dr.PH., M.S., R.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    Henry J. Heimlich, M.D., Sc.D. The Heimlich Institute
    Lawrence Kushi, Sc.D. Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente
    Virginia Messina, M.P.H., R.D. Nutrition Matters, Inc.
    John McDougall, M.D. McDougall Program, St. Helena Hospital
    Milton Mills, M.D. Gilead Medical Group
    Myriam Parham, R.D., L.D., C.D.E. East Pasco Medical Center
    William Roberts, M.D. Baylor Cardiovascular Institute
    Andrew Weil, M.D. University of Arizona

    Link 6: from an article originally posted in the Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology (November 2000)

    Link 7: from eliminatefibromyalgia.com run by J. Thompson (profession unknown)

    Link 8: recommends a balanced diet (who doesn't? ) but refers to a standard definition of balanced diet (which mainly lists animal products as protein sources and generally recommends dairy products).

    Link 9: refers to a book written by to authors with a lot of experience in writing literature about health/fibromyalgia (profession unknown)

    Link 10: This is the link which suggests a menu with chicken, beef, eggs, cheese etc. It seems to be an independent site (fibromyalgia-diet.ws) run by a person whose profession is unknown at least to me.

    Link 11, fibromyalgiadiet.net: The writers here are obviously not aware of 'the protein myth'.

    Link 12: A quote from National Fibromyalgia Research Association

    Link 13: Text from fibromyalgia-symptoms.org

    Link 14: refers to Monica Levin who is a 'Holistic Nutritionist'

    Link 15 is about what Aram A. Akopyan LAc (who has with a diploma in Oriental Medicince) suggests regarding suitable diets for people with fibromyalgia.

    Link 16 is to webmed.com


    Some people may be skeptical against pro-vegan literature written by someone who already is a vegan (Dr. Neil Bernard, founder of PCRM). Another way to look at this would be: how reliable is a doctor or health organization who has come to the conclusion that they'll recomment people to live on a vegan diet, but who keeps eating beef and dairy products - and therefore are not vegan?)

    Other may possibly be skeptical against someone with a diploma in oriental medicine or people who are 'holistic' nutritionists, if they trust traditional schoold medicine more than alternative medicine.

    However, the majority of these links come from people who should have very good knowledge about both health issues in general and/or fibromyalgia, and if I'm not mistaken, the only person who suggests a meny with beef/chicken/cheese etc is one of the very few on this list who doesn't appear to be a health professional or have published in-depth literature/material about fibromyalgia.
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  21. #21
    [LMNOP] ellaminnowpea's Avatar
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    Default Re: a good fibromyalgia diet?

    Woah! Can't believe I missed this thread!! I have fibromyalgia. It took about 5 years to diagnose (I'm now 23) and haven't met anyone with fibromyalgia. And my primary doc doesn't know much about it. I have a pain management dr, rheumatologist, and chiropractor. I'm also considering acupuncture and massage on a regular basis.

    Btw, I've been vegan for about 4 years and vegetarian for 8 years before that. I would love to talk with anyone that is interested in my experience or has experience themselves...
    “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” ~ Alcott

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